


Tearing Down Walls

by HiddenTreasures



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7791400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenTreasures/pseuds/HiddenTreasures
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose helps the Doctor deal with his severed bond to the TARDIS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tearing Down Walls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dimensionhoppingrose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/gifts).



> This was written for the ever-lovely and magical dimensionhoppingrose over on Tumblr on the occasion of her birthday!!

For the first time in his lives, the Doctor watched his TARDIS take off without him. His connection with her grew fainter as she left this universe, their bond warping as the walls closed. He thought his knees might give out on him as he walked towards Rose, needing her comfort, and hoping she would give it.

He tentatively slipped his hand into hers as they stared at the impression the ship had left in the sand. Out of his periphery, he saw Rose turn her head to look at him, and he looked over at her. The TARDIS was almost gone now, and his mind ached for her, as he tried to stay connected with her, but the attempt was futile.

“Doctor?” Rose asked hesitantly, seeing his look of distress. “You all right?”

At that moment, the walls of the universe sealed, and his mind burned white-hot as his bond with the TARDIS dissolved completely, leaving him entirely alone in his mind for the first time in his memory. He bit his lip to stifle the moan of pain, but Rose must’ve heard it, because she dropped his hand for just a second before she wrapped her arms around him. Just in time, too, because his knees really did give out this time.

“Shh, I’m here,” she whispered, holding him close as she lowered them both to the ground. “I’m here Doctor. I’ll always be here.”

His shoulders shook with grief, which made him feel guilty because he finally had Rose back, he had everything he ever wanted, and he should be nothing by grateful for this second chance. But his mind was burning and he felt sick to his stomach as a migraine pulsed through his skull.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Rose asked desperately, stroking her fingers through his hair.

By chance, her fingertips grazed along his temples, and his wounded mind reached out impulsively to try and form a connection. She must’ve felt it, because she gasped a pulled her hands away.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he grunted through gritted teeth, rubbing the heels of his hands in his eyes to try and shove aside his dizziness and nausea.

“It’s fine,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t think… didn’t realize… the TARDIS is gone!”

“Is it?” he spat through gritted teeth. “I hadn’t noticed.”

He saw her wince and he wanted to apologize for his outburst, but she smoothed her expression and cupped his cheeks in her hand.

“Doctor, let me help you,” she whispered. She inched her fingers up his face until her fingertips hovered just over the skin of his temples. He very nearly pressed his fingers to her temples to complete the connection he was desperate for. But he couldn’t do that to her. Not without her consent. Not without telling her what would happen.

“You don’t have to,” he mumbled. The sharp pain in his head had dulled to a raw ache, and he knew in time he would be okay, but there would always be that emptiness inside his mind.

“Doctor, I want to,” she whispered, running her hands up and down his arms until she caught his hand. She twined their fingers tightly together and brought his hand to her lips. “Please, let me help you. I can’t bear to see you in pain. Please.”

“It’s permanent,” he explained wearily. “I couldn’t ask that of you.”

“You don’t have to ask,” she said, curling her hand around his jaw to make him look at her.

Tears were shining in her eyes, and so was a love so deep an immense, the Doctor’s heart stuttered in his chest.

“Please, let me do this for you,” she whispered, rubbing her thumb along his cheekbone. “Let me do this _with_ you. I love you, Doctor. I want to help. Please, let me help.”

The Doctor’s ears rang when she said the ‘l’ word. She loved him? Him? Not the Time Lord? But _him_? She didn’t even fully understand what he was yet, and she loved him?

His heart raced with hope, and he wished his bloody head would stop pounding so he could snog her again.

“Love you, too,” he whispered, wanting to take her into his arms but knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop his mind from twining with hers if he got too much more contact with her.

“Then let me do this,” she said. She rested her fingertips against his temples, and sucked in a sharp breath when she felt a tickle travel across her scalp and her mind felt louder. “You’re still my Doctor. You’ll always be my Doctor.”

“And you’re my Rose,” he murmured, lifting a shaking hand to her temples. “Are you sure? You don’t have to. I’ll be all right without it.”

“I want to,” she insisted, tilting her head into his hands. Her mind got louder with him as his fingertips brushed across the skin of her temple. “It’ll be like before, yeah? When-whenever you and I—y’know…”

“It’ll be more,” he explained. “Deeper, fuller, stronger. I’ll always be there in your head, even if we’re not touching.”

“Sounds perfect,” she said. “And I’ll be in your head all the time, right?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded, remembering back all those years ago when he and Rose had shared a telepathic connection when they’d made love. They’d been intimate for over a month when he tentatively asked if she might want to add in telepathy. She had been more eager than he had anticipated, and the sheer pleasure of temporarily fusing his mind with hers was just as great as when they had physically come together.

He ached for that intimacy with her again, and wanted to share this bond with her.

“Last chance to opt out,” he warned, feeling his restraint slipping. “Can’t undo this. You’d be stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

“Stuck with you, that’s not so bad,” she said softly with a smile.

He exhaled sharply as his throbbing mind instantly sought hers out upon her declaration. He moaned in relief as her cool, soft mind slipped around his, soothing the raw holes in his telepathic centers. It was quick work, tying his mind to hers and hers to his. He threaded their minds together like a tapestry, and watched in awe as her mind worked seamlessly alongside his to secure him as tightly as he was securing her.

 _There_ , he gasped, feeling his mind suddenly expand to encompass Rose, and her sharp intake of breath told him her mind had just expanded too.

The Doctor opened his eyes, unaware he had closed them, and he rested his forehead against Rose’s. Their new, fledgling bond sparked, making them gasp as they were both deluged by each other’s emotions.

The Doctor could see her anger and hurt at being left behind by the other Doctor, but he could also see her pure and unconditionally love for him—and for his Time Lord self—and he made sure to let her know how much he loved her.

“Doctor,” she whispered, tears glittering on her eyelashes.

She pulled back from him long enough to gently press their lips together. ‘Gentle’ only lasted for a few seconds, until Rose scratched her nails across his scalp and nibbled on his bottom lip. He groaned into her mouth and let her tongue sweep around his mouth, remapping terrain that had been unexplored since Canary Wharf.

Their arousals burned brightly in each other’s minds, and the Doctor knew he was half a second away from shagging her right then and there. Wait. Why couldn’t he shag her right then and there?

“Oi!”

Oh, right. Jackie.

“If you two are done mating, the taxi’s here!”

The Doctor reluctantly broke apart from Rose and frantically tried to reroute his blood, only to be mortified to realize his new human body couldn’t be controlled that easily.

“We weren’t mating!” he squawked indignantly, trying to ignore the pressure in his pants.

“Yeah, sure you weren’t,” Jackie drawled, staring pointedly at the bulge against his zipper.

“Mum!” Rose said sharply, giving her a glare until Jackie turned away with a huff.

“Weren’t mating,” the Doctor grumbled after her, wincing as he readjusted himself.

“Nearly did,” Rose teased, feeling their spark of arousal in their bond slowly fade.

The Doctor hummed noncommittally, and he turned to Rose. They were still kneeling in the wet sand,

She was pulsing brightly in his mind, a warm, soothing light that was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He cuddled that piece of Rose close to him as he enveloped her in a physical and mental hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered, letting her feel his joy and thanks and love.

“I’m sorry you lost the TARDIS,” Rose whispered, seeing the anger and loss and pain he was trying to hide.

“S’all right,” he said, forcing those negative emotions behind a wall. “I’ve got you.”

 _Hey,_ she whispered, resting a hand against the wall he had just built. _It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but please don’t hide from me? Please?_

Guilt was added behind the wall. Bondmates weren’t supposed to hide from each other.

_Bondmates?_

The Doctor flushed. _Yeah, that’s what they were called. Kind of like the human title of husband or wife._

Rose rolled the foreign word around in her head for a moment. _Bondmate. I like it_.

The Doctor grinned down at her and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“I love you,” he whispered, slowly taking down the walls surrounding his negative emotions.

“I love you, too. Thank you,” she murmured, seeing the maelstrom of emotions he was feeling, and soothing him as best she could. She could relate to how he felt, because she was feeling it too. No matter. They had the rest of their lives to work it out. For now, she was content with simply being with him, and feeling his mind next to hers, where it should be.


End file.
